At some point—probably when someone coined the phrase “leveraging cross-functional synergy”—we quietly smothered point of view. We stopped having ideas and started having decks. We started “aligning.” We ran everything through committees, softened the edges, ran it again. By the time it came out the other end, whatever it was had all the urgency of a beige Restoration Hardware couch. All hail “inoffensive corporate.” It means as a group we all agree we hate it the least.

And here’s the kicker: we called it good.
It’s not.

Sometimes we release the Wild Hare.

What’s a Wild Hare? It’s the idea that scares you. The one that makes you tilt your head and say, “Wait, can we even say that?” It’s the oddball visual... the one that drives your legal department to a three-martini lunch. The jolt of weird. The strategic detour that might just get us there faster—because there’s no traffic where no one’s willing to go. A Wild Hare doesn’t ask permission. It kicks the door open, throws its fur back, and drops a half-feral, high-voltage concept right on the table. It might be a strategy that blows up category conventions. It might be a headline you hear once and never forget.

We don’t always lead with the Hare. But we always chase it down. Because the act of chasing it—that friction, that uncomfortable what-if—that’s where the edges are. That’s where things get real. And that’s not just a process thing. It’s a values thing.

We call it Free Thinking for Hire. Free thinking requires guts. It requires people in the room (yes, in a room together) who aren’t afraid to take the long way. It requires clients with a sense of adventure and teams with a high tolerance for moonshots. It’s more than our tagline… it’s our posture. It’s the foundation of our culture.

At Ostrom Creative, we believe that sometimes the best idea arrives sideways, shaking like a Wild Hare in a lightning storm. If it’s any good, you’ll know it—because you’ll feel something… something other than safe.

Got thoughts on this? I would implore you to share them.

— Tom
Free thinking for hire™